Tinker needs your help!

fastnoc

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Not sure what to do.

she's started hacking a couple times a week now. it's not that she's choking, she can breathe, but i think she's trying to cough up a hair ball or something. she sits there and makes this awful noise and her whole torso spasms. is that voluntary?

Should I take her to a vet or is there something I can get to help her get rid of whatever it is?
 

nanner

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Have you tried Petromalt? (If it's a hairball.) Does she seem fine otherwise? Is she eating and pooping?
 

addiebee

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Has she brought up anything? Petromalt and Laxotone can help if the hair ball is small and you give it to them routinely to help the hair pass. I have started with my foster boys b/c I had the same thing with one of them.

However, if the hairball is too big - she may not be able to cough it up OR pass it through the digestive tract.

Try the hairball stuff first if she is still having trouble then yes . off to the vet!

And this time of year they shed and groom much more - change of seasons... so try brushing both of them more if you can.
 
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fastnoc

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i do try to brush them, but tinker thinks I'm playing and constantly fights me, trying to bite the cat brush lol. Wilbur is SORT OF ok with it, but he doesnt like it either. it surprises me. i figured they'd love it.

She's fine otherwise, in fact, even when she's hacking, she'll come over and rub on me, get playful etc. it's almost like it doesn't bother her.

she has never brought anything up. she hacks, then licks her lips, then hacks some more.

I'll go to pet smart and get some of the stuff you both recommended.

I dont think it's critical. she's eating and pooping fine. in fact, now that we've moved and they've settled in she seems happier
 

addiebee

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

i do try to brush them, but tinker thinks I'm playing and constantly fights me, trying to bite the cat brush lol. Wilbur is SORT OF ok with it, but he doesnt like it either. it surprises me. i figured they'd love it.

She's fine otherwise, in fact, even when she's hacking, she'll come over and rub on me, get playful etc. it's almost like it doesn't bother her.

she has never brought anything up. she hacks, then licks her lips, then hacks some more.

I'll go to pet smart and get some of the stuff you both recommended.

I dont think it's critical. she's eating and pooping fine. in fact, now that we've moved and they've settled in she seems happier
DEfinitely sounds like hairball issues. Just keep an eye on her. The noise they make is scary sounding. Yeah- cats like to playfight with the brushes!!
 

nanner

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What I do with Larry when I brush him (which I have to, 'coz he's long-haired), is I give him a "decoy" brush that he can play with while I'm brushing the rest of him.
He loves to be brushed, but he also thinks it's playtime.
When he starts going for the brush I'm using, I give him that and switch to the other one.
 

skimble

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Originally Posted by nanner

I give him a "decoy" brush that he can play with while I'm brushing the rest of him. When he starts going for the brush I'm using, I give him that and switch to the other one.
I too, use this trick with success. They can be like 2 yr old toddlers. Nothing but wiggles.


Have you tried the Zoom Groom brush. A rubber brush with large teeth. All mine love this one when they didn't like other brushes.

I put about one third of a hairball food mixed in with their regular food. This seems to help.

I also put a pat of butter on a dish next to their food. Not sure if that remedy is responsible for much. Many will recommend it for hairballs.
 

rapunzel47

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I think butter does help. Cindy is the one who has occasional hairball issues in our family. She does not make a habit of asking for butter, but it's uncanny how often she'll turn up in the kitchen looking for it shortly after I've noticed her trying to deal with a hairball -- and then it'll be weeks before there's another incidence.
 
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fastnoc

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I'm buying another brush this weekend lol. I have to figure out a way to keep the cat hair under control anyway. I really had no idea just how bad it was until I moved homes. i could have built another two cats with all that hair.

As for butter, Tinker won't eat it. Wilbur loves it. When they would jump on the counter when i was making my food, I'd put a dollop of butter on the counter to keep wilbur occupied. lol
 

zoeysmom

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I've been told some olive oil can help as well! Cat grass too!

Delilah is my hairball cat, and of course the one who won't touch anything that isn't cat food (I had to buy special cat food, because she won't even eat treats!). It can be tough to treat/prevent hairballs when they won't take anything you try to give them. Belle loves Petromalt and margarineso she's easy!

If you can spread a bit of butter on her paw so she has to lick it off, that might be a way to get it in. If they'll lick their dirty bums to get clean, I'm guessing they will tolerate butter!
 

catmom2wires

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That sounds like what my cat did this spring. She, unfortunately was quite ill---cancer. Make sure if it's a cough, not a retch. You can find some vids of "asthma cough cat" on YouTube to compare to what Tink is doing. My Sheba sounded just like those vids. She, too, was "just fine" in between episodes.

Good luck.

C
 
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